The present invention relates to an apparatus, algorithm, and method for stitching different pieces of images of a scene into a panoramic environment map.
The most common way to electronically represent the real world is with image data. Unlike traditional graph-based systems, there are systems which use panoramic images to construct a virtual world. The major advantage of a system which uses panoramic images is that very vivid and photo-realistic rendering results can be obtained even when using PCs. In addition, the cost of constructing the virtual world is independent of scene complexity. In such systems, panoramic images are stitched together into a panoramic map from several individual images which are acquired by rotating a camera horizontally or vertically. This panoramic map can be used in different applications such as movie special effects, the creation of virtual reality, or games. A typical problem is how to stitch the different pieces of a scene into a larger picture or map. One approach to address this problem is to manually establish correspondences between images to solve unknown parameters of their relative transformation. Because manual methods are tedious for large applications, automatic schemes are preferably used for generating a seamless panoramic image from different pieces of images.
One proposed approach uses a nonlinear minimization algorithm for automatically stitching panoramic images by minimizing the discrepancy in intensities between images. This approach has the advantage of not requiring easily identifiable features. However, this technique does not guarantee finding the global minimum if the selection of starting points is not proper. Further because the optimization process is time-consuming, the approach is inefficient. In this invention, the domain of images under consideration is panoramic images.
The invention allows users to generate panoramic images from a sequence of images acquired by a camera rotated about its optical center. In general, the invention combines feature extraction, correlation, and relaxation techniques to get a number of reliable and robust matching pairs used to derive registration parameters. Based on the obtained registration parameters, different pieces of consecutive images can-be stitched together to obtain a seamless panoramic image.
In a first aspect, a method of merging a pair of images to form a seamless panoramic image includes the following steps. A set of feature points along the edges of the images is extracted, each feature point defining an edge orientation. A set of registration parameters is obtained by determining an initial set of feature points from a first one of the images which matches a set of feature points of a second one of the images. A seamless panoramic image is rendered using the first and second images with the set of registration parameters.
The invention provides a feature-based approach for automatically stitching panoramic images acquired by a rotated camera and obtaining a set of matching pairs from a set of feature points for registration. Since the feature points are extracted along the edges, each feature point specifies an edge orientation. Because the orientation difference between two panoramic images is relatively small, the difference between edge orientations of two feature points is also small if they are good matches. Based on this assumption, edge information of feature points can be used to eliminate in advance many false matches by checking their orientation difference. Moreover, many unnecessary calculations involving cross-correlation can be screened in advance, thereby significantly reducing the search time needed for obtaining correct matching pairs. After checking, by calculating the value of correlation of the remaining matching pairs, a set of possible matches can be selected with a predefined threshold. The set of possible matches are further verified through a relaxation scheme by calculating the quality of their matches. Once all of the correct matching pairs are found, they are then used to derive registration parameters. In this invention, an iterative scheme is applied to increase the reliability in providing matching results. Since only three iteration or fewer are needed and only a few feature points are involved in the matching pairs, the whole procedure can be accomplished very efficiently. Also, as discussed above, because the orientation difference of two feature points is checked in advance (before matching). Many calculations involving cross-correlation are not required and the efficiency of stitching is significantly improved. Compared with conventional algorithms, the proposed scheme offers improved efficiency and reliability for stitching images.
Embodiments of this aspect of the invention may include one or more of the following features. In one embodiment, a set of feature points are first extracted through wavelet formations. Among other advantages, the invention uses wavelet transforms to obtain a number of feature points with edge orientations. Such edge information can speed up the entire registration process by eliminating many impossible matches in advance and avoiding many unnecessary calculations of correlation. The method determines a number of reliable and robust matching pairs through relaxation. The method also measures the quality of a matching pair, imposes angle consistency constraint for improving the robustness of registration, and uses a voting concept to get the desired solution from the set of final matching results.
In other embodiments, the method forms the final panoramic image with the help of the registration results. In particular, the method adjusts the intensity differences between consecutive input images and blends the intensities of adjacent images to obtain a seamless panoramic image. The final panoramic images can then be used to build a virtual world.
Still other embodiments may include one or more of the following features:
For example, the method selects a number of feature points through wavelet transforms. Each feature point is associated with an edge orientation so that the speed of the registration process is increased.
The method uses an angle constraint to construct a set of matching pairs, which are used to obtain reliable matching results through a relaxation and a voting technique. The set of matching results are then used to form the final seamless panoramic image.
Constructing an initial set of matching pairs for registration includes comparing the edge orientation differences of feature points in one image and its corresponding feature points in another, calculating the values of correlation of each possible matching pair, and thresholding them with a predefined threshold.
Getting reliable matching results through relaxation and a voting technique includes calculating the quality of a matching pair, imposing angle consistency constraint to filter out impossible matching pairs, updating matching results through relaxation, and using the voting technique to obtain the reliable registration parameters. In addition, it refines the final registration results by using the correlation technique with a proper starting point.
Forming the final panoramic images includes dynamically adjusting and properly blending the intensity differences between adjacent images.
In another aspect, the invention features a system for merging pairs of images to form a panoramic image. The system includes an imaging device which, in operation, acquires a series of images, a storage for storing a series of images, a memory which stores computer code, and at least one processor which executes computer code to extract a set of feature points along the edges of the images, each feature point defining an edge orientation and to obtain a set of registration parameters by determining an initial set of feature points from a first one of the images which matches a set of feature points of a second one of the images, and to render a seamless panoramic image using the first and second images with the set of registration parameters.
Other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description, including the claims and the drawings.